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by golden.rebels
Summary: She gently slid her hand up his forearm and onto the very hand he held against her cheek. This couldn't be happening, he thought as his blues frantically searched her murky stare. "I wish you the best, Soldier." Was all she said through a blanket of tears. And just like that, Steve knew he had lost the one thing he could call home. Steve Rogers/OC.


"_And oh, this too shall pass._

_This loneliness won't last for long."_

••••

He'd seen her nearly every day for the last three months.

He'd watch, albeit in between his own strict workout regime, as her blonde ponytail swung from side to side as she jogged on the treadmill and knew that somewhere in between her third or fourth set on the Smith machine that the little white earbud would fall out of her ear and earn nothing but an irritated groan in return.

Steve found himself wanting to talk to her on more than one occasion but the moment he noticed the green speck of her eyes come even remotely close to detecting his blue stare, he'd avert his eyes back to the punching bag before him and swallow sheepishly.

It was almost comical, really. He was Steve Rogers, Captain America himself – but the second a girl came into the picture, he was Steve Rogers the ninety pound runt from all those years back. It was almost cruel.

He often found himself wondering just _how_ Natasha had coerced him into joining an actual gym outside of the one SHIELD had provided for them. "_It'll be good for you, old man._" She teased, the faintest trace of a smirk tugging at the corners of her lips. "_Only assholes pick up women at the gym, you'd be a welcome treat_."

It was pathetic the more he thought about it, but perhaps the saddest part of this entire ordeal was the tiny fleck of hope Steve had that he _would_ meet someone – anyone, really. A friend, maybe even something more. He was lonely and he found that in between missions, he truly had nothing better to do than work out and try to work through the list he'd been making of everything he'd missed while in the ice.

It was a sad life to lead, but here he was.

Today in particular, Steve found himself back in the somewhat familiar gym, eyeing the clock to his left. Quarter to two in the afternoon – just around the same time the blonde always came in.

He felt almost guilty knowing this girl's gym schedule as well as he did but it _was_ genuinely a fluke. He came at this time every day, a mild workout compared to the one he did by himself, and there she was nearly every day working out alongside him.

It had become almost a routine seeing this girl day in and day out and today was no different because not three minutes after Steve had first checked the clock, did the tall blonde walk in.

She was wearing a tight pair of black spandex, black Nike runners and a navy Under Armour zip-up. Her red gym bag bounced against her thigh as she read something on her iPhone and Steve fought the urge to smirk as she nearly crashed into another patron who was on his way out. Her long blonde hair was tied off into a high ponytail at the back of her head but tendrils still fell out of the band and cascaded down her neck.

And just as fast as he had seen her, she was gone again – disappearing into the change room where she would shed her gym bag and phone and come out with a set of white earbuds jammed deep into her ears and determination in her green eyes.

_Get a grip, Steve_. He thought bitterly, turning his attention to the punching bag before him. He laid on a few good swings, nothing compared to how hard he would have actually hit it if he had been by himself, but still a decent enough hook to send the bag flying in the opposite direction.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed the blonde come out of the change room and head towards one of the machines geared towards working out her abdominals. With a clenched jaw, he tried to solely focus on the bag before him but as his willpower waned, his blues suddenly focused in on the tape over his knuckles – and before he knew it, he was looking over in her direction once again.

This time, however, he found her greens almost instantly.

An immediate heat pained the tips of his ears as she made dead eye contact, but it was too late to look away. At first he couldn't make out the look on her face when their eyes met, but then he saw the usual look of realization dawn on her. He was used to that look; he'd seen it a hundred times over since word came out of Captain America. But what he hadn't expected to see was the look of realization suddenly morph into a small tiny smile.

This was it; this was his moment of opportunity. He managed a small smile of his own, but his feet refused to move. He simply remained still, staring at her like a lost puppy. A drop of sweat slowly trickled down his neck and bled into the thin cotton material of his t-shirt but still he remained still.

He watched as her smile began to fade, but the kindness of it still lingered in her stare. It was then that she gave him a quick nod before going back to her workout – and just like that, he missed the one opportunity of a conversation he had had with the girl to date.

In outrage, he began to un-tape his knuckles. He made sure to keep his eyes focused on nothing more than the gym bag to his left before calmly placing his belongings into it. His jaw was clenched, his anger and genuine disgust with himself was at an all-time high, and with that he turned on his heel and walked out of the gym without so much as a second glance at the girl behind him.

Just like that, the moment was gone.

••••

Hours later Steve found himself wandering the streets of DC. With his hands shoved deep into his beige pants, the crispy October breeze bit at the super soldier's exposed features but he felt none of it. Instead, he focused solely on getting from point A to point B; Randall's Pub on East Avenue – he may not have been able to get drunk, but he'd be damned if he spent another lonely night in his apartment catching up on the last 95 years of cinema.

Once he was inside the unfamiliar pub, he took a seat at the busy bar and shrugged off his bomber jacket.

"What'll it be, kid?" The bartender asked once Steve was settled.

Steve almost smirked. _Kid_, he mused. _Not in ages._ "Just a pint of," he allowed his blue eyes to skim over the array of beers before deciding on one. "Artois."

With a slight nod of his head the bartender went to work and left Steve to his own devices. Slowly, he took in the crowd around him and slid the bartender a ten. Music thumped around him and the hum of chatter around the bar was _almost_ loud enough to drown out his thoughts. Almost.

It was a damn shame that it wasn't loud enough to down _her_ out.

"You keeping tabs on me now?" Steve asked, not bothering to look to his right where he knew she'd be.

"I more or less just wanted proof for my own eyes that you can indeed leave the solace of your own home." Natasha quipped coolly, ignoring the bartender completely as he came around a second time. "I'm shocked."

Taking a rather large swig of beer, Steve furled his brows and folded his elbows on the bar before him. "You're hilarious." He muttered darkly.

With a tiny smirk, Natasha shrugged and looked around the bar. "So how's blondie from the gym?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"That bad, huh?"

"I said," Steve reiterated, "I don't want to talk about it."

Natasha nodded but the smallest smirk still remained on her full lips. She wasn't sure why she had taken such an interest on trying to find a mate for Steve Rogers but ever since their Avengers stint, every once in a while she would pop up between missions and attempt to help him find a girl.

"Did you talk to her?" she pressed.

"I said—" Sensing she wasn't going to drop it; he sighed and ran a hand through his dark blonde hair. "No, I did not."

"Hmm," she hummed. "Again, I'm shocked."

He finally looked over at the redhead and glowered at her profile. "Did you come here for any reason at all, Natasha? Or did you just feel like rubbing my sad life in my face?"

"I do quite enjoy that." She said. "But no, I came for a reason."

"And what would that reason be?"

Natasha slowly looked at him and raised a single brow. "Do you want to know her name?"

Steve blinked. "Who? The girl?" When Natasha remained silent he once again furrowed his brow. "I told you to stay out of it, Natasha." He nearly growled, leaning closer to her to ensure she understood where he was coming from.

"Easy, gramps. I have my answer." Slowly she stood up to her full height and shot him one last look. "Talk to her, Steve."

He watched the redhead walk away before turning his attention towards his beer. Maybe he would talk to the blonde tomorrow.

Just maybe.

**A/N:**

**So if you're confused, this story is taking place literally a few months after The Avengers. It will seep into the Winter Soldier eventually but I'll also be mixing in some action beforehand. I hope you guys like it and know that it won't be too long before some action hits! **

**And no, this story will not be Steve x oc falling in love within a couple chapters. I'm going to make their story as true to form as possible. **

**Feel free to review :) **


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